


The Fairest of Them All

by fratboytomlin



Series: Fairy Tales and Fan Fictions [1]
Category: Panic! at the Disco
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Evil Aunt, Fairy Tale Retellings, M/M, Prince Brendon, Prince Ryan, Princes & Princesses, Ryan talks to himself a lot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-13
Updated: 2014-08-04
Packaged: 2018-02-08 12:32:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1941198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fratboytomlin/pseuds/fratboytomlin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lips red as the rose, hair dark as ebony, skin white as snow. Alas, he is, Ryan Ross.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to all of my friends who suggested that I write Ryan as Snow White, and even those who claimed that Ryan was a princess of his own. Special thanks to Joolay, without her great input, would I have not written this fan fiction.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own anyone or anything in this story, only my own written words. I did use some lines from the Disney movie 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs', but other than that, all the writing is my own.

Through the kingdoms and villages there has never been a story of more vain and envy than that of the events that took place in the realm of Invidia. A jealous, evil queen is the unfortunate monarch of the quaint town, ruling the common folk in borderline tyranny. Even though the queen was beautiful, she had a wicked personality that dawned over the kingdom like a black cloud.

Of course, the current queen wasn't the first in line for the throne. The eldest sibling in the family's bloodline, Steve, was arranged to lead Invidia. After a tragic and possibly planned 'accident', Steve and his wife were left deceased, the only two survivors being Sarah herself and her brother's son, Ryan. Sarah took over the throne as ruler, since Ryan was still a newborn when the tragedy dawned over the castle. Sarah treated Ryan like the prince he was during his younger years, hiring him the best teachers to supply him a proper education and a healthy, normal childhood. 

Changes occurred when Ryan turned the ripe age of ten, his caring aunt becoming a vicious guardian archetype. Seemingly, Ryan's never ending thirst for knowledge was a danger to Sarah in its own. The queen threatened to have all of his books burned, demanding that servants around the house should begin to hide things from the outside world from Ryan. Sarah insisted that it was for his own personal good, but in reality, the selfish queen was absorbed in keeping the monarchy all to herself.

Ryan soon became sheltered from anything that didn't have to do with cooking and cleaning, somehow transforming from the handsome young prince to some kind of child laborer. Servants were fired left and right, leaving the small ten year old boy to cope with keeping up with a castle for the upcoming years of his life. The queen eliminated all aspects of a normal life from Ryan, ripping away the only sanity he had left within him. Or so she thought.

A kitchen would _never_  be a place that a queen would step into, so that's where Ryan hid his guilty pleasures. Books were stacked in cupboards, dusting during the days where Ryan was bogged down with a hefty list of chores to do. In his downtime, he would read all about the monarchy or his family or some made up fairy tale. Either way, Ryan was self learning about everything around him, whilst the queen stayed oblivious in her own little shell of castle walls.

The queen kept to herself most days. Ruling a small kingdom wasn't a heavy duty of hers anymore, and without having to nurse Ryan twenty four hours a day, Sarah was free to do things by herself. The company of people was something unneeded for her, longing to live a life full of power and loneliness. But of course, her young nephew was still someone she had to keep an eye on, but apparently not a good one, since he had his own activities going on unbeknownst the queen.

Six years pass, and that's where the real story begins.


	2. If You Make a Wish Into the Well and it Echoes Back, Your Wish Will Come True

"Ryan, dear, would you go out to the well and fetch me some fresh water? I'm starting to believe the tap has become infected again." Sarah asked, draped against the large throne-like chair that was placed at the back of the room.

From the other side of the room, Ryan turned to admire his aunt, a mess of laziness and never ending tasks that needed to be completed. Ryan thought he disliked her sometimes, but then he remembered the sacrifices she made to raise him as her own, and the feelings of distaste withered back into something nostalgic.

"Yes, your majesty." Ryan bowed, turning quickly on his heel and making an exit from the room.

When the queen was alone again, she made her way over to the mirror that was hanging on the gray, brick wall at the center of the room. Sarah took in her reflection of pale skin and dark hair, wanting to give herself a bigger confidence boost. Sarah had always been vain, obsessing over being the most beautiful queen to ever grace the lands of the earth.

The queen began to summon the face in the mirror, using one of her many spells in the form of poems to revive the indulgence that she was losing with age.

Winds howled in the small enclosed area as Sarah finished her incantation, smirking to herself as the inhuman features appeared in the mirror. This mirror was what the queen resorted to when she needed assurance that she was still as lovely as she was twenty years ago. Sarah could always count on the mirror to tell her the truth, which of course, was always that she was the most prepossessing human found in the magical realms the mirror could see.

"What wouldst thou know, my queen?" The mirror asked, tone still as unsuspecting as it was each time Sarah came to the mirror for its advice.

"Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?" The queen queried, a coy smile dancing upon her nude lips.

"Famed is thy beauty, majesty, but hold, a lovely maid I see. Rags cannot hide his gentle grace. Alas! For he is fairer than thee!" The mirror stated, leaving the queen an angry mess.

It was like the entire world had shifted for Sarah, once again being placed behind someone else for what she yearned for. Beauty was in her inner circle of three wishes, standing tall behind power greed. Without being the fairest in the land, the other pillars that held the queen tall would come crumbling down as well, leaving her a has been to the throne, and handing her entire structure over to someone who didn't deserve it as much as she.

"Alas for him! Reveal his identity." The queen ordered, her words sharp as daggers.

"Lips red as the rose, hair dark as ebony, skin white as snow." The mirror spoke, his face slowly rippling into a live action vision of the described boy out by a well.

"Ryan!" The queen exclaimed, her eyes widening with shock.

 

♡

Humming was always a great pastime for Ryan as he was doing chores. Singing had been an activity he enjoyed as a child. Sarah had paid for music lessons of all sorts and had helped Ryan practice while they did small things together, like when she brushed his hair or gave him his dinner. Ryan sighed to himself, a pang of nostalgia filling his chest as he remembered how great things had been between him and his aunt before they had been doomed to hell.

The well was a place that Ryan had loved at a child, learning from Sarah that it was a place where wishes came true, but only if his words were echoed back. Ryan had taken this old superstition to heart, leaning his face down into the well so he could see his reflection staring back at him. At first Ryan thought he was being silly and should just fetch the water and pretend this never happened, but alas, he stayed, and talked into the well.

"I'm wishing," Ryan started off, waiting for his voice to echo, when it did, he smiled greatly, summing up what he wanted to say in his head, "For the one that loves me, to find me today." Ryan finished, letting the sounds of his own voice reverberate back to him.

When Ryan lifted his head up, he was expecting to see the never changing sight of the roads leading to the exit of the castle grounds, but instead, a boy about his age stood not too far away from him.

"Oh!" Ryan exclaimed, taken aback by the unfamiliar person getting a bit too close for comfort. If it weren't for Sarah warning him at an early age about talking to strangers and telling him who he was, then Ryan wouldn't be so afraid of the handsome boy in front of him. In fact, he would probably find his dark eyes and hair irresistible, but this wasn't the right time or universe for any of this to be happening.

"Hello," The other boy said, smiling weakly at Ryan, "Did I frighten you? I'm sorry, I heard you singing from a distance away and I had to come find the source of it. It's quite beautiful, as are you."

Ryan backed away slowly, not having to look in his reflection in the well to be aware that his cheeks were flaring red.

"I wasn't singing, it must have been the way the wind carried my voice, or something. Look, I know about strangers and how they have dangers and whatnot so I really should go take this water back inside now," Ryan huffed out, his words running together from his nerves frittering like crazy.

The boy cocked his head, obviously confused, "I'm not here to hurt you. Trust me, I've had my fair share of crazy stranger talks, but here I am, and you're not crazy or anything."

"But I live here," Ryan retorted.

"You do have a point there." The other boy laughed, showing off a set of white teeth behind his thick lips. "I haven't properly introduced myself, I'm Prince Brendon of Wyrth." Said the prince, Brendon, holding out his hand to Ryan.

Ryan stared at it for a second, contemplating on whether to take it or not. Eventually he made up his mind, slipping his hand into Brendon's. "Ryan."

Brendon piqued his eyebrow, "Aren't you the Prince of Invidia?"

"Yes." Ryan answered, fear soothing his body once more. He could practically feel his aunt getting on to him later, doubling his chores for the next month.

"Then why are you acting as a servant?" Brendon asked, giving Ryan's current appearance a once over. If Ryan knew that he would be meeting a very attractive prince from a few kingdoms over, he wouldn't be decked down in ripped clothing.

Ryan shrugged in response, “My aunt believes that teenagers should help out the elders. You know, cook, clean, the whole gist.”

“But isn’t that what the help are hired for?” Brendon inquired.

“Aunt Sarah is old fashioned.” Ryan excused.

“That’s a little extreme.” Brendon offered, “Maybe when you take over the throne someday, you’ll finally be able to settle down a bit.”

“Maybe someday.” Ryan smiled, averting his gaze from the extremely attractive prince. For a second he felt like he was out of his body, making conversation with a complete stranger who may not even _be_ the Prince of Wyrth, but for the first time in his life, Ryan’s never-ending knowledge on royalty came into play. Brendon was definitely the next bloodline to take over Wyrth.

Brendon returned the grin, looking off at something behind Ryan and saying, “It looks like the queen wants you back now, so I should probably be going. Sorry I snuck up on you, and sorry I distracted you from your work. It was lovely meeting you, though.” Brendon bowed, then he did something unexpected: he grabbed Ryan’s hand in his own and planted a dainty kiss atop of it.

Ryan’s cheeks flushed red from the action, suddenly becoming ill with some sort of love sickness that had just made itself known into his life. With that, Brendon was making his way back of to the white horse that was tied up to a tree, and Ryan was waving him off with a fond expression on his face.

The queen was right: maybe the well really did make wishes come true.


	3. The Cottage in the Woods

The events of the last hour had unnerved the queen to the point where she was pacing the room, running her shaking hands through her mess of raven hair. The queen ranted to herself, cursing that everything she had worked so hard to achieve had unraveled itself in less than an hour. She was no longer the fairest of them all, and the lucky soul that was happened to be one of her worst living enemies. To make matters worse, all of her struggles to shelter Ryan from the outside world had crumbled to the ground on her own watch. Sarah immediately regretted sending Ryan out to the well, and showing him as a child how to make wishes through the well, and she even regretted summoning the mirror. The queen thinks she would have been better off thirsty and unknowing than knowledgeable and angry.

Maybe Sarah was correct, she’d rather be uninformed and happy than miserable and intelligent.

That’s why she wanted to shelter Ryan from those damned books for all those years.

When the queen heard her nephew coming up the creaking stairs, she immediately calmed herself, taking a seat in her throne like nothing was wrong.

Ryan burst through the door, unsuspecting as he gave his aunt a cold glass of water. Sarah dismissed him from the castle, sending him out into the forest to obtain fruits from the castles gardens. Ryan obeyed, leaving just as quickly as he came.

The queen thought that Ryan was probably hopeful he’d run into the boy she had seen him with earlier, and her face twisted in disgust at the thought of Ryan ending up with a happily ever after before her.

Even though the queen was a completely tyrannical, independent woman on her own, the thought of her sixteen year old nephew finding love before her put a jealous knot in her stomach.

If the queen didn’t stop Ryan, he would end up with everything she ever wanted: directly and indirectly. That’s why she sent Ryan out to the forest, Sarah needed to rid of him for at least a little while to brew up a plan to get the world back into order.

An idea popped into the queen’s head, making her grin wickedly wide. She beckoned for a guard, one of the only staff members left in the castle, and gave him instructions to fulfill this first plan of action.

“Follow him out into the forest, and find a secluded glade where he can pick fruits and wildflowers!” The queen explained at first, waiting for a reaction before she continued.

“Yes, your majesty,” The guard, Frank, nodded. He was just about to leave when the queen grasped him lightly by the forearm.

“That’s not all. Once you are there, my faithful huntsman, you will kill him!” The queen demanded.

Frank’s jaw literally dropped, his words coming out in fractured stutters, “But, your majesty! I can’t do that, he’s just a little prince! Oh, he’s not even grown yet! I would do anything you asked me to, but this! This is blasphemy! He’s just a-“

“Silence!” The queen interrupted with a yell that could shake the room, “There isn’t much time until he slips from your hands, and you know the penalty if you fail!” Sarah warned, motioning her finger across her throat.

Frank gulped, nodding wistfully, “Yes, your majesty. I’ll do what I can.”

“But to make doubly sure you do not fail at this task, bring back his heart,” Sarah pulled a small box from inside her dark cape and opened the top of it, “In this!”

“Yes, your majesty.” Frank replied regretfully, taking the small box from the queen’s hands.

Frank knew ahead of time that this would be one of the hardest things he’d ever have to do in his life, but in order to save his own, he’d have to eliminate a young child from the hierarchy.

He wasn’t sure he could do it.

♡

After the queen had given Frank the instructions on how to kill the prince, he set off on foot, thankfully not too far behind Ryan. Frank kept his distance from the boy, watching him as he skipped happily through the fields of grass and trees, humming lightly to himself.

There was no way Frank would be able to darken this little sunshine.

Ryan had stopped in front of a bush a couple of yards into the forest, crouching down to where the wildflowers swayed in the wind. Frank watched as Ryan plucked one up from the bush, tucking it away nicely in the basket he was carrying on his hip.

This would be like ripping off a band aid to Frank, if he closed his eyes and ended the prince quickly, he’d end up with no remorse.

Sadly, that wasn’t the way this was supposed to work. Frank suddenly remembered that he was supposed to bring back Ryan’s heart in the box and that made his plan fall through.

But if Frank didn’t kill the prince, his own life would be lost.

Frank used this as a momentum to pull the dagger from his pocket, stiffly walking over to where Ryan was innocently picking flowers. He had to do this in order to save himself, and for more important reasons, the queen.

Slowly and steadily, Frank stood behind the young boy and raised the dagger to his own ear, ready to strike the little prince in the back. But something inside of Frank stopped him, somewhere in the goodness of his heart he knew he couldn’t pull through with this.

Frank dropped the dagger to the dirt, the sound of the drop making Ryan turn around and gasp.

“I can’t! I can’t do it!” Frank cried, falling to the ground in defeat, “Forgive me. I beg of your majesty, forgive me!”

Ryan scrunched his eyebrows together, resting a hand on Frank’s shoulder as he cried aloud. “I don’t understand.”

“She’s mad! She’s mad I tell you! Jealous of you! She’ll stop at nothing!” Frank ranted.

“But who?” Ryan asked, trying to make sense of the gibberish that Frank was spouting out.

“The queen!”

“The queen?”

Frank nodded, clearing his throat before continuing, “Now quick, child! Run! Run away, hide! I know a house out here in the woods somewhere, the men who live there would be more than delighted to keep you safe! Never come back! Go!” Frank shouted.

Ryan took these words into consideration, inclining as he dropped the basket and asked, “Where will I find this house?”

“That way!” Frank yelled, picking up the dagger and shoving it back into a pocket of his coat. He pointed to the right, which held a sullen pathway going deep into the forest, “Follow it through until you find the cottage! Tell them Frank sent you for safety, and it was inevitable.”

With this, Ryan started running down the dirt path, leaving Frank to fend for on his own.

The forest began to darken the farther Ryan traveled down the path, leading him through blackened passageways and deadening plant life. Mysterious animals noisily made themselves known, cawing and cooing in every direction. Sunlight opted as the only source of sanity left in the twisting trail, creeping through gaps between the trees.

Eventually things started to get brighter, the trees getting just a bit greener and the pathway becoming more visible. In the distance, Ryan could see a white and brown little house sitting in the middle of nowhere, smoke coming from a brick chimney. This had to be the place Frank told him about, serving as the only building within the depths of the forest.

Ryan wonders how he never knew this was here before.

Jogging the rest of the distance, Ryan arrived in front of the house seconds later. He knocked on the door, waiting for someone to greet him from the other side, but the door opened itself, unlocked. Ryan shouldn't have expecting less, why would the owner be wary of intruders if he lived in the middle of nowhere?

Ryan eased himself as he stepped inside. He looked around the unlit room, asking, “Is anyone here?” When the only response he got was his echo, Ryan proceeded to walk through the downstairs of the filthy house.

“My! Do the people who live here not care at all?” Ryan gasped, swiping his finger across the table. A thin layer of dust stuck to his finger, and Ryan shook his head in pity of the person who didn't dare to have their home spotless.

“Maybe I should do them a favor while they’re gone! I’ll tidy up the house as a first impression. They’ll _have_ to let me stay then!” Ryan decided, picking up a broom nearby as he started sweeping the floor.

Ryan polished and dusted and mopped every crevice of the house until the interior was practically sparkling. The floors were clean enough to eat food off of, and there wasn’t a patch of dust to be found. Bundles of laundry had been washed, now hanging outside on clotheslines to dry.

The house had taken hours to clean, leaving Ryan exhausted.

“Let’s see what’s upstairs,” Ryan thought aloud, groggily forcing himself up the creaky wooden steps.

A door was the only thing that the stairs led Ryan to. He unlatched it quietly, peaking inside before he entered.

The room was empty, a bedroom with seven beds lined up against the walls. At the foot of the bed, names were carved into the wooden boards. Under the main lettering were supposed nicknames for the people who must have owned them.

“Oh my, how interesting!” Ryan exclaimed, switching on the light so he could get a better look. “What nice names, Patrick, Joe, Andy, Pete, Dallon, Gerard, and Shane. Well, I’m sure one of them wouldn’t mind if I took a nap in their bed. Only for a little while.” Ryan yawned, laying on top of the first bed he saw.

Hopefully Ryan would awake before the owners of the home arrived so he could explain himself.


	4. An Angel

Another day at the mines was what was in store for the gang of seven men who worked there. Different colored gems were found as usual, now stowed away in a bag that they were bringing home. The seven of them filed back home, singing a jolly song together as they took the paths back to their cottage.

Something was different when they arrived back at the cottage. The unchanging atmosphere of the home had now changed, smoke coming out of the chimney a bit faster, clothes actually drying on the clothesline, and unfortunately, a light was on downstairs.

“Look! Our house! The light’s lit. Uh, guys, the light’s lit.” Andy pointed out, looking back worriedly at his friends. “Something’s in there, maybe a ghost, or a goblin, or a demon, or a dragon!”

“Mark my words, there’s trouble! I felt it comin’ all day.” Mikey insisted grumpily.

Pete added, “That’s a bad sign.”

“Gosh,” Patrick muttered, “Here’s what we’ll do, we’ll sneak up on it and take it by surprise!”

“Yes, we’ll sneak up on it. Come on men, follow me!” Andy ordered, taking the lead to the front door.

The seven men were on edge as they scoped the downstairs floor of the home, finding that everything was neat and tidy.

This must have been an angel: nothing was even clean in the cottage.

“The floor! It’s been swept!” Andy pointed out.

“Hah! The chair! It’s been dusted.” Mikey laughed, taking a seat.

Patrick looked out the kitchen window and out to the clothesline, “The window! It’s been washed, along with all of our clothes.”

“Gosh, our cobwebs are missing!” Pete smiled, silently glad that he wouldn’t be walking into them at night when he was roaming the house for a midnight snack.

“The sink’s empty. Hey! Someone stole all of our dishes!” Dallon remarked.

Patrick shook his head, opening a cabinet, “They haven’t been stolen, just washed and put away!”

“There’s dirty work afoot,” Mikey muttered from the chair.

Patrick and Dallon shared a look in the kitchen, inhaling deeply. “Something’s cooking!” Patrick exclaimed, looking to the stove.

“And it smells delightful!” Dallon remarked.

Mikey got up from the chair and ran over to the kitchen, pushing Mikey and Patrick out of the way. “Don’t touch the food! It could be poisoned.” Mikey looked in the pot on the stove, “It’s a witch’s brew, I tell you.”

“Flowers!” Pete called from the table. “Wildflowers, too.”

“Take them away!” Dallon yelled, covering his nose, “Oh, my hay fever! I can’t stand it!” Dallon attempted to get out, sneezing loudly halfway through the process.

“This isn’t the time for sneezing!” Mikey warned, “The entity has been alarmed now, thanks a lot, Dallon. Are you trying to get us all killed?”

“No, but you know how I get around flowers!” Dallon exclaimed, still covering his nose.

A tapping came from upstairs, and set all the tension quiet.

“What was that? That must be it. It’s still in the house.” Patrick trembled.

“I told you. It knows we’re here now!” Mikey groaned, side eyeing a distraught Dallon. “It sounded close too, it must be coming from upstairs. We checked every crevice and cranny down here!”

“It’s in the bedroom.” Pete confirmed.

“One of us has to go and chase it away,” Andy proposed, “Or we could all go! We can all go together, all or nothing.”

“We’re right behind you,” Patrick nodded, hinting that Andy should go first.

The seven men traveled up the stairs in a single file line. The steps creaked vociferously as they all attempted to get to the same place at once. When they all arrived at the top of the steps, Andy reclaimed his spot as leader.

“The door’s cracked, it must be in here. No matter what happens, we’re going to stick together, got it?” Andy nodded, waiting for the rest of the men to agree.

When they did, Andy pushed open the door and peaked in to see a young boy asleep on Patrick’s bed. His hair was dark, contrasting his skin the color of snow. He looked innocent as could be, his hands tucked under the pillow and his body laying still on the quilted blanket. “It’s just a little boy!” Andy confirmed in a whisper.

“He’s mighty pretty.” Dallon smiled, peaking at the sleeping Ryan.

“He’s beautiful, just like an angel.” Pete blushed.

“Angel, hah! He’s poison! He broke into our house and tampered with all of our stuff! He’s full of wicked wiles.”

“Not so loud! You’ll wake him up!” Andy informed.

Mikey scoffed, “He ought to wake up! He doesn’t belong here!”

“Look out, he’s moving!” Dallon exclaimed.

“He’s waking up!” Patrick panicked, moving behind Gerard and Dallon in an attempt to hide.

Ryan opened his eyes, taking in the sights around him. Seven men were gathered around the bed he was sleeping in, staring at him in pure astonishment. Ryan blinked the sleep from his eyes, sitting up and stretching.

“I’m sorry I stole your bed,” Ryan apologized sheepishly, “How do you do?”

“How do you do what?” Mikey asked, confused.

Ryan laughed, “It’s a saying, and it means I was asking how you were doing. Anyway, don’t tell me who you are, let me try to guess!” Ryan said, remembering the nicknames that were carved underneath the men’s actual names on their beds. “I bet you’re Pete!” Ryan exclaimed, pointing at the man with dark hair and rosy cheeks.

“Oh, gosh!” Pete blushed, his cheeks reddening even worse than before.

“You must be Joe, because you’re yawning.” Ryan nodded, looking at the sleepy man with blue eyes.

Joe nodded in response, cupping his mouth with his hand as he yawned.

Ryan tapped his chin, letting his finger direct him to each man he was talking to. “Andy, Mikey,” Mikey groaned, “Dallon.”

Andy and Dallon nodded in unison, leaving Mikey to mutter, “What’s it to you?”

Ryan ignored this smart remark and moved on. “Patrick,” Ryan guessed, landing on the man with dirty blonde hair, “Because you’ve got the sweetest smile I’ve ever seen.”

“Yes, ma’am, that’s me! And this is Gerard,” Patrick pushed the man with red hair a bit forward, “He doesn’t talk much, so I thought I’d introduce him myself.”

“You mean he doesn’t talk?” Ryan queried, waving at the youngest looking one of the seven.

Patrick shrugged, “He doesn’t know. Gerard’s never tried!”

“Well that’s too bad,” Ryan frowned, letting a silence fall over the room.

“Now he knows who we are, so why don’t we let him tell us who he is, and what he’s doing here!” Mikey insisted, crossing his arms heftily across his chest.

Ryan put a hand on his chest, “I’m Ryan.”

“Ryan? Like the Prince of Invidia?” Patrick asked, shock overwhelming his face.

“Yes, that’s me!”

None of the men said anything for a minute, probably because at first they were surprised to have someone sleeping in their bed, let alone having it be the prince.

“Well, my dear prince, we’re, uh-honored. Truly honored to have you here!” Andy smiled.

“Honored! We’re confused!" Mikey yelled, "Why do _you_ have any reason to stay here, huh? Do you have a reason?"

Ryan sighed, the question he had been anticipating had finally arrived. "It's the queen, my stepmother," Ryan started, glancing down at his hands in front of him, "She's apparently extremely jealous of me, so I was sent here by Frank to hide out. I'm sorry I'm being such a bother, but if I go back to the castle, she'll have me killed." Ryan explained, waiting for a response from the seven men in front of him.

"She sounds mighty mean." Patrick spoke up, frowning at the statement.

"The queen's an old witch! If she finds out Prince Ryan is here, she'll get vengeance on us all!" Dallon claimed.

"That's why I was hesitant to bother you all with my presence. I don't want the queen to take out her anger on innocent people when it was me who tried to run away. She doesn't know where I am, so it will be alright for now." Ryan said, hoping that saying it out loud would make it true.

Mikey shook his head, "She knows everything! The queen is full of black magic and dark spells."

"She'll never find me here," Ryan insisted, "Oh, please, if you let me stay, I'll do anything you ask. I'll keep up the house with cooking and cleaning and everything, it was my specialty back at the castle."

"Oh, we wouldn't expect that of you," Pete flushed, "A prince shouldn't have to become a maid for a bunch of grown men."

"But it would be a token of my gratitude." Ryan smiled.

Patrick took over the reigns, saying, "If it means that much to you, then you can help out. But just know that you're not required to do anything by any means, you're in hiding. It's time for you to relax for a bit."

"Okay!" Ryan obliged, grinning widely at the men in front of him.

Deep down he really hoped the queen wouldn't find him here.


	5. Not Even the Pages in These Books Can Fix My Problems

As promised, the seven men didn't make Ryan do much for them. Ryan's first couple days were spent raiding the bookshelf downstairs whilst the men went to work. Every once in a while, he'd pick up the slack with the hygiene of the cottage, but other than that, his nose was stuck in whatever book he could get his hands on.

Ryan's never ending need thirst for knowledge had now been fulfilled after years of drought. The books in the castle were history books, often containing family secrets and legacies that Ryan had learned all about. When Sarah began to get envious of Ryan, she had told him the books were burned out in the courtyard, but in reality, servants were asked to hide them behind a secret wall. Unfortunately for Ryan, he wasn't aware of this, still thinking to this very moment that his precious shrine had vanished forever.

The old books were forgotten though, Ryan's thirst for education finally quenched.

But in passing, books weren't enough to fill the void that had been paved into his heart.

Two weeks had passed, and evening dawned the cottage in the woods. The seven men were entertaining themselves with a game of cards, sitting around their large, circular table with a deck in their hands. Ryan shied away from the group, draped across the arm chair with a fairytale of a prince in his hands. Ryan sighed quietly, scanning the words without intent of understanding. His mind was elsewhere at the moment: away from the book, away from the men playing a vicious game of cards, away from the cottage, away from the kingdom...

And focused on Prince Brendon, the dreamy boy he had met days earlier, and was probably destined never to see again.

Mikey slammed down his cards, cursing under his breath, "Let's take a break before we start the next game, my stomach has been growling for the last three rounds."

The rest of the men agreed, pushing their chairs back all at once to create a horrible noise of wood rubbing against wood. Some of the men followed Mikey into the kitchen, but a few packed onto the couch in the den by Ryan. Ryan glanced over the pages of his book, meeting eyes with Patrick and Dallon.

"Gosh, that's a good one, isn't it?" Dallon asked, squinting at the cover of the book.

Ryan shrugged, closing the book, "I haven't been able to pay attention to it really. It deserves a lot more justice than I've given it."

"Something on your mind?" Patrick asked.

"More like someone," Ryan huffed, putting his chin into the palm of his hand.

Dallon and Patrick exchanged a knowing glance.

"Oh?" Patrick spoke up, "Is this person special?"

"I guess so. I mean, I don't really know him that well yet, and we only had one brief meeting, but like all the classic tales say, you just _know_ , right?" Ryan rambled, frustrated that his problems couldn't be clearly solved with finishing a well written book.

"That's fair, what was he like? Wait, no, tell us how you met." Dallon pondered, his tone light and dreamy, like he was a complete sucker for a good love story.

Ryan grinned, his chest filling with infatuation. "It all started the day I arrived here, but, you know, before. Aunt Sarah had asked me to go out to the well to refill the water, and once I was out by the well, I tried an old trick she had taught me as a child. If you make a wish into the well and it echoes back to you, it will come true. So of course, I wished for love, and I know it seems crazy, but Prince Brendon was standing no more than twenty feet away from me. I was so afraid, I had never seen this boy before and there he was, staring at me like I was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. It was insane. We had a short conversation, but then he spotted Aunt Sarah and assumed I should get back to my duties. Just like that, he was about to be on his way. But then he kissed my hand, and everything felt fuzzy and giddy on the inside. I never felt like that before, it was...amazing. But then he was on his way, and I was going back inside the castle. The end."

Patrick and Dallon sat lovesick on the couch, in amazement from Ryan's tale. Ryan was pining as well, now upset that this was the end of his story, possibly forever. It had just dawned upon him that the ordeal with Prince Brendon may have been a one time thing, never to be seen again.

"No! Not the end!" Dallon furrowed his eyebrows, "We're going to find you that prince, and we're going to get you two together, for good."

Patrick shook his head, "It can't work like that, Dallon! Not with the queen in the way! If she finds out that the prince is here, she'll also be aware that Ryan is here, and that can't happen. It'll blow the whole cover, and no one will end up happy."

"Exactly. Not everyone is blessed with a fairytale ending, Dallon." Ryan frowns.

"Well I'll be damned if you don't get one! You deserve it, Ryan, more than any of us. And if it takes sacrifice to get it, that means it's worth it. Without sacrifice, how will you ever know if something is meanwhile?" Dallon remarked, and Ryan swore that even with all the books he's ever read, that sole sentence was the most inspiring thing he's ever heard."

"Dallon's right. How will I ever know if I don't try? If it doesn't work, it doesn't. If my cover gets blown, I'll either defend myself or I'll rid of the queen! I'm not going to be afraid anymore." Ryan smiles, and Dallon claps aloud.

Patrick rubs his temples, fretting silently to himself. Ryan knew this plan wasn't well thought out and it more than likely was going to fall through, but he also knew that this was a once in a lifetime chance. Aunt Sarah wouldn't be going anywhere for a long while without outside help, and everyone knew that. Maybe it was time for Ryan to put his own royalty and strength into his hands and stand up for what was right.

Ryan got up from his chair and relocated to the seat next to Patrick, who was still distraught from lack of logical explanation. Ryan put a hand on his back and said, "Don't worry, Patrick. This is going to work, we'll all think of a plan. No one is going to be put into danger, I promise this, not only as your friend, but as the Prince of Invidia."

This got Patrick's attention, putting more faith into the small man.

"Alright, but can I at least review the plan before it goes into action? Just to make sure." Patrick said, his voice oozing with worry.

"Yes, and if it works, then once I become king, maybe I'll have a spot for you on Invidia's planning committee." Ryan winked.

Patrick's jaw almost physically fell to the floor, "You'd do that? For me? That's such a big job, oh my, I think I need to sit down."

Ryan laughed, "You're already sitting, but yes. After what you guys did for me? Anything you guys want is yours once I have the throne." Ryan assured.

"Gosh, that's such a big promise, thank you," Dallon remarked. Patrick only nodded in response, still speechless.

"Anytime." Ryan smiled, glancing out to the dining room, "It looks like the guys are starting to set back into the game. Maybe you should go so you don't miss anything."

"Why don't you join us?" Dallon asked.

Ryan shook his head, "Thanks, but I think I'm going to focus on this book now. Have fun!"

Ryan waved them off, waiting until they had left the room before he opened his book back to where he left off, and got thrust back into the fantasy world of the love story he was reading.


End file.
